2010-02-23 - Music NewsAnthony Jones - Celebrity News Service ReporterLisa Lavie And Participants Talk YouTube Version Of "We Are The World"

Los Angeles, CA, United States (CNS) -- Record labels, take note. While YouTube has already launched a few careers in entertainment (you can find Fred plushies at Toys 'R Us), no less than 57 YouTube singers participated in a remake of "We Are the World," which many are saying puts the current auto-tuned, celebrity-filled version to sham.

The YouTube version of "We Are the World" packs so much talent into its 7 minutes and 30 seconds, it makes you wonder what else is on the site besides ninja cats and fail videos. The mastermind behind the YouTube version is Lisa Lavie, a YouTube sensation whose original song "Angel" amassed over 5 million views. Check out her soul-stirring version of Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" as well, recently covered by Celine Dion and Carrie Underwood at the Grammys.

In just two days, her version of "We Are the World" has half a million. The video has hit news outlets, blogs, and forums. Even Tyra Banks tweeted about it, saying "I am crying right now. Speechless because of beauty" and then linked to the video. She later tweeted, "When I grow up, I wanna sing just like @LisaLavie."

"The process of putting this together was was a lot of fun. I reached out to tons of great singers on YouTube and asked them to be a part of this project," Lavie told CNS. "Everyone jumped on board and I then assigned lines to everyone."

Among the singers who participated are Santa Barbara-native Lois Mahalia, who on her YouTube created a soaring ballad out of Damien Rice's "Blower's Daughter," and Jumoke, who tried out for for the fifth season of "American Idol."

"When Lisa called me to be involved I did not hesitate for a second to say yes," said Mahalia, who headed to L.A. to record her part for the video. "She's my friend forever and it's nice to be apart of this project."

"Lisa e-mailed me one day and said I'm doing a collab video for 'We Are the World' and I wanted to know if you wanted to be involved," Jumoke said. "I was like, 'Of course.' But I didn't know it was gonna be like this."

Within three days, Lavie had videos from the 57 participating artists and got to work on editing, which she says was "tedious." "A lot of the singers on the track didn't record using a mic. Some recorded it in a bathroom, a kitchen, a bedroom. I then had to take all of the videos, extract the audio and try and piece it together as smoothly as I could," Lavie said.

The result has garnered thousands of comments across the web, praising their talents and wondering how long until Oprah scores them all on her show. But while there's not currently any plans to release this version as a digital download, Lavie says she hopes it brings even more awareness to the "25 for Haiti" version. "It's all for a good cause," she says.